The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 565: Tell Everyone

Chapter 565: Tell Everyone

As Dominic left Pop’s forge, a middle-aged man in a leather coat flagged him down.

“I hear that you’re sending the freshly arrived refugees directly to the Barons. What are the odds that the rest of us can get in on that?” The man asked bluntly.

“Very good. I’ll make an announcement for everyone who wants to move out of the city to go talk to the group in charge of the dispatch. They can find you places among the Barons who have farms open or who need your skills.

That should help cut down on some of the crowding within the city.

I only started with them because they have a bus that will help get them all moved.” Dominic explained.

“Whatever works. There is an empty caravan waiting on an airship as well. I’m sure that we can hire them to get a few hundred of us at a time out to the farms.

It’s easy work, all reward, no risk.”

“Now I just need to make a proper announcement. If I put a note up on the board, it will take a while for everyone to read it, so I’ll spend some time spreading the word.” Dominic sighed.

“You only need to go to three places. The town guard barracks, the tavern and the tea shop. Once the regulars at all three know, everyone will know within a few hours. Especially those of us who are in group housing.”

“That should do it. Once the groups start to find out, they’ll get curious and spread the word fast enough for me.

If almost everyone knows by the end of the day, their exodus should alert everyone else by tomorrow.”

The man threw back his head and laughed. “Aye, that it would. When everyone starts packing up and leaving, those who didn’t get the message are going to start having questions.

That will spread the word faster than anything else, and it will push everyone who is procrastinating, hoping that they’ll find some cushy work somewhere, into making a final decision if they’re going to remain in the city or move out to the villages to start over.

It will be good for them. Too many are stuck in nostalgia, or can’t quite get past the loss of their old status and wealth.

But we’re all here now, and it will be up to us to set up the next generation of our families, so we need to choose well. Either we have the talent, or we don’t. There is no relying on past generations contributions and glory in Wistover.”

Dominic nodded. “That’s a great way to look at it. There are a lot of people starting from nothing, so it’s all up to your own capabilities to get ahead. Now, a lot will be proud to settle into a good farm and raise a family.

But those who want to start a family legacy, like the handful of Great Families commonly running many of the other cities, are going to have to earn it on their own.”

“You don’t object to Great Families?”

“Not at all. If they have the talent, they have the talent. The Khalil Family has a compound over by the bakery, and they also own the mercantile store, plus a few other shops.

They might not be a Great Family like some other cities have, but they’re certainly an impressive one, with so many talented businessmen and businesswomen in their household.”

That made the man laugh. “Indeed. One of my brothers got hired by them as a security guard. The old man wanted someone to hang around and keep folk from harassing the new girls at the bakery.

They’re too young for marriage, but not all the lads got the message.”

“The curse of having good-looking daughters.” Dominic agreed.

“Aye. You could go the other way, and end up with one that’s impossible to marry off. But I don’t think that’s any more stressful than having one that you have to chase suitors away from.

Me, I’ve just got boys, and they’re already grown.”

“While boys are a handful, at least they’re extra hands to work the fields, assuming that they’re not gone and married off by now.” Dominic joked.

“They’re living in Causter. They’re happy there, but I thought it was better to take a chance and get off that tiny plot we had to try my luck here in Wistover.

Who knows, maybe they’ll show some filial piety and send me a bit of money now and then.”

The man laughed, then turned to leave. “Thank you for the information, Your Grace. I will be sure to tell everyone I come across today.”

The man was true to his word, and he even stopped at the tavern and stuck his head in to shout the news to the patrons.

That was one less place that Dominic needed to stop, and he made sure that any groups of people he came across also knew so that they could inform others who might be planning to leave town.

He also stopped at the bakery, as it was one of the busiest shops in town, and letting the staff know would catch nearly everyone over the course of the next day or two.

With a bit of luck, they would get enough people moved that they would actually be able to start sorting out the housing situation.

However, there were still so many Noblemen and debutantes in the region that there was no telling what it would take to get everyone into suitable housing, or how many were even planning to leave for their family homes.

Most of them had been trained since birth to do something that would benefit the family, and that meant they could also be classed as skilled workers or tradesmen.

Of the more technical sorts, naturally.

Dominic made a circuit of the shopping area, then the industrial area, so he could inform the warehouses holding the majority of the overflow population.

Then, he decided to take a short trip out of town for one last stop at the Academy.

This change was going to put a lot of strain on people, and Dominic wanted to make sure that they could keep it from turning violent when the number of houses began to dwindle, and people didn’t get their first choice of place to stay.